MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama’s defense allowed just 118 total yards and forced three turnovers, and Michel Chapuseaux kicked three field goals as the Jaguars beat Nicholls State 9-3 on Saturday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium for their first win of the season.
Nicholls State managed only 22 rushing yards and 96 passing yards. South Alabama finished with 279 total yards, 169 through the air and 110 on the ground, and held the ball for 34:52 to the Colonels’ 25:08. The Jaguars ran 75 plays to Nicholls State’s 52.
“Putting pressure on the quarterback really helped us tonight,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones said. “I thought we played with a lot more energy on defense, it looked like the defense that I’m used to seeing.”
Field Position Battle Early
Both offenses struggled in the opening quarter. Nicholls State gained 23 yards and South Alabama 19, and each team faced four third downs, with the Jaguars converting the only one.
South Alabama’s first two drives began at its own 2- and 1-yard lines. Punter Scott Garber flipped the field on his third punt of the night: facing fourth-and-20 from the Jaguars’ 22, he boomed a 69-yard kick with the wind to the Nicholls State 9.
The Jaguars forced a punt and took over at the Colonels’ 46 with 1:51 left in the first quarter. They moved to the 35, but quarterback Ross Metheny was sacked for a 3-yard loss on the final play of the period.
After the teams changed ends, South Alabama punted into the wind, and Garber’s kick went into the end zone for a touchback. Nicholls State then drove to the Jaguars’ 20, where a fumbled snap cost the Colonels 10 yards. After two incompletions, Nicholls State kicked a wind-aided 48-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Chapuseaux Ties It Before Halftime
South Alabama answered from its own 25 following a touchback. C.J. Bennett completed consecutive passes to Terrance Timmons and T.J. Glover for a first down, and the Jaguars followed with five straight runs, three by Demetre Baker for 6, 15 and 8 yards. Kendall Houston gained 6 yards and then lost 3 to the Nicholls State 30.
Bennett hit Wes Saxton for 11 yards to set up third-and-2 at the 19. Timmons was stopped for no gain, but a personal foul penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal and gave South Alabama a first down.
After a penalty, Bennett connected with Jereme Jones, who was ruled down at the 1-yard line. Houston lost a yard on the next play. The Jaguars sent out the field goal unit, called a timeout as the play clock wound down, and Chapuseaux then made a 19-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3.
South Alabama’s defense held Nicholls State to minus-13 rushing yards in the second quarter.
Turnovers Fuel Second-Half Scoring
After both teams punted to open the second half, South Alabama drove from its own 48 to the Colonels’ 17, but Chapuseaux’s 35-yard attempt into the wind sailed wide left.
On the second play of the next Nicholls State possession, Bryson James intercepted a Landry Klann pass at the Colonels’ 33. Bennett found Houston on a screen pass for 14 yards to the 19, with a key block from Drew Dearman, and a roughing-the-passer penalty moved the ball to the 9. Houston ran for 4 yards, and after two incomplete passes, Chapuseaux kicked a 21-yard field goal to give South Alabama a 6-3 lead with 5:17 left in the third quarter.
Later in the quarter, Metheny scrambled out of the pocket on third-and-6 from the Jaguars’ 38 and ran down the left side. T.J. Glover delivered a block on a Nicholls State defender near the sideline, and the defender was injured on the play.
The player was placed on a backboard, his neck was immobilized, and he was taken off the field on a cart. He moved his arms and legs and gave the crowd a thumbs-up as he was loaded onto the cart, and he was taken to a local hospital for observation as a precaution.
On the next play, Timmons fumbled, and Nicholls State recovered at midfield with three seconds left in the third quarter. The Colonels drove to the Jaguars’ 17, but on second-and-12 Montavious Williams recovered a Nicholls State fumble at the South Alabama 19.
Final Points and a Goal-Line Stand
Metheny opened the ensuing drive with three straight completions: 2 yards to Saxton, 9 to Hollinger and 29 to Glover to reach the Nicholls State 41. The Jaguars advanced to the 17, and Chapuseaux’s 34-yard field goal made it 9-3 with 9:01 remaining.
Terrel Brigham intercepted Nicholls State’s first pass after the kickoff at the Colonels’ 38. South Alabama drove to the 19, but a fumbled handoff between Bennett and Baker was recovered by Nicholls State.
Needing first downs to run out the clock, the Jaguars went three-and-out from their own 9. Garber’s 48-yard punt from the 16 was returned 6 yards to the Nicholls State 42 with 2:38 to play.
Klann then moved the Colonels into Jaguar territory, completing a 4-yard pass, a 9-yarder to tight end Nich Scelfo and a 16-yard completion to the South Alabama 29. A pass interference penalty on B.J. Scott put the ball at the 14.
Nicholls State lost a yard on first down and threw an incompletion on second down, and Pat Moore sacked Klann to push the Colonels back to the 18, setting up fourth-and-14. Nicholls State called a timeout with 38 seconds remaining and later used its final timeout before Darrius Morrow broke up the fourth-down pass. South Alabama then knelt to run out the clock.
Individual Statistics
Baker led all rushers with 75 yards. Metheny added 14 rushing yards, Bennett 13 and Houston 10.
Bennett completed 11 of 20 passes for 111 yards with no interceptions. Metheny was 6-of-10 for 58 yards and was sacked three times.
Glover led the receivers with three catches for 43 yards. Hollinger had three receptions for 36 yards and Lavender three for 20. Jereme Jones caught two passes for 22 yards and Saxton two for 13. Corey Waldon, back from knee surgery during preseason camp, made his first catch of the season for 7 yards.
Chapuseaux finished 3-of-4 on field goals, connecting from 19, 21 and 34 yards and missing from 35.
Coaches React
Nicholls State head coach Charlie Stubbs credited the Jaguars’ defensive front.
“South Alabama is good up front, they rotated eight guys in there,” Stubbs said. “We are kind of young up front in a couple of positions and we weren’t able to substitute as freely as they did. I feel like they kind of wore us down in that area.”
Stubbs said the Colonels’ only running success came with LaQuinton Caston as a Wildcat quarterback. “South Alabama made us one-dimensional, and we’re not good enough right now in the passing game to try and win just by dropping back and throwing the ball,” he said.
Jones said the victory was important for his team. “It was big for us to win this game. We lose that game and we’re reeling,” he said. “I told the kids, ‘A win is a win.’”
Jones said the offense was out of sync, in part because the staff had no recent film of Nicholls State, which had changed some of its schemes from two years earlier. “The first few times we had the ball, it was on the one or two-yard line, and we kind of got started on a bad note,” Jones said. “I don’t think we adjusted very well, and that’s something we have to look at next week.”
Up Next
South Alabama plays its first road game of the season next Saturday at NC State. Kickoff at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., is set for 5 p.m. CDT, and the game will be streamed on ESPN3. NC State lost its opener to Tennessee and beat Connecticut on Saturday.
Update: Defense Finds Its Pass Rush
South Alabama’s defense finished the Nicholls State game with six sacks and 14 tackles for loss totaling 60 yards, along with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
The pressure marked a change for the Jaguars, who recorded 15 sacks and 59 tackles for loss all of last season, averages of 1.5 sacks and 5.9 tackles for loss per game. In the season opener against UTSA, South Alabama had no sacks and five tackles for loss.
With no recent film of the Colonels to study, the defensive plan centered on getting into the backfield and making plays.
“We got after the quarterback. We said that was our goal coming in,” defensive coordinator Bill Clark said. “We schemed the whole week trying to get four guys coming at all times and the d-line really gave us a great push. It starts with pressure. That sure helps you out a lot.”
“We got some turnovers today, some takeaways, and we had a lot of three-and-outs,” Clark said. “We had a tough penalty near the end and we can’t have any penalties, especially gifts like that. … But our emotion, our energy, the way we tackled, being physical, that’s everything we preached this week. The offense is going to step up one week and we’ll step up another, but this week it was our turn and that’s what a team game is all about.”
Defensive Leaders
- Jake Johnson: Sacked the Nicholls State quarterback on the Colonels’ third play from scrimmage and finished with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
- Pat Moore: In his first start for South Alabama, made five tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Two of his sacks came in the red zone in the second half.
- Anthony Taylor: Two tackles for loss, including a sack.
- Terrel Brigham and Bryson James: One interception each.
Difficult Stretch Ahead
South Alabama next plays road games at NC State and Mississippi State before hosting Troy in its first Sun Belt Conference game. After an open week, the Jaguars travel to defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State.
“I think this stretch is huge. We’ve got to go in with some confidence,” Clark said. “You’re playing people who have got some great skilled athletes and they’re well coached. … This week we’ll just focus on N.C. State and then we’ll go from there.”
